Worry
by Kayhuahua
Summary: Douglas's POV during the barbeque in Missing You and his feelings on Jess and Rob's relationship. Contains some quotes from Missing You, but I didn't have the book with me, so they might not be exact.


**This is my first fanficition entry ever and probably the first story (if something this short can even be called that) I've ever written outside of an English class, so hopefully it's not too bad. I'm a big reader, but not a huge fan of writing. I always have ideas running through my head of scenes I think would be cool to read, but if I try to explain them to someone I never feel like I did a good enough job describing them, so I'll usually just look for a story that's similar and read that. Lately I've been really curious about Douglas and Chick's points of view, but I couldn't find any stories like that, so I figured I'd just give writing a shot. I didn't have the book with me when I was writing this so the quotes might be a little off, but I tried to get it as close as I could. I might do Chick's point of view just to get it out of my head, but if I do I'll probably wait until I have ****Missing You**** with me.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Missing You or any of the other books in the 1-800 series by Meg Cabot**

Worry

Sometimes I wonder if my sister thinks I'm blind to what's right in front of me. I see more than she thinks. I noticed when she started coming home with a grin on her face more and more frequently during her sophomore year of high school. I was not oblivious to the fact that "band practice" usually meant detention and that, the majority of the time, she ended up there because she was defending me. I know that she worries about me. That's not actually that uncommon, though. Worrying about me, I mean. Everyone in my family used to and probably still does. But, with the exception of my dad, Jess is the only one who tried to hide it. Mom acted like I was made of glass and Mike avoided me as much as possible. My ego may have been a little wounded whenever Jess got in a fight over me, but at least that was something normal and unchanging. She's always defended me, even when she was just a little first grader at Pine Heights Elementary School. That's one of the things I love best about Jess, her ability to just take things with a level head and be herself, and it's probably why we're so close. I can always count on Jess to tell me her honest opinions about things without sugar-coating it the way Mom or anyone else would. But I know she doesn't always tell me everything, so I've gotten pretty good at reading her expressions. Which is why I can tell that, no matter how much she tries to hide it, right now she is afraid.

This time it is not a murderer or a terrorist that's plaguing her, it's purely emotional. This is the first time she's found anyone in two years and, even more earth-shatteringly, it's also the first time to she's talked to Rob Wilkins since she left. No, this time she's not afraid of being hurt physically. She's afraid of having her heart broken again.

I remember the first time I met Rob. I had known about him for awhile, do mainly to my mother's mutterings about "the grease-monkey" the day Jess found that cheerleader, Heather, but I didn't meet him in person until he landed in the hospital after helping Jess take down the True Americans. Unfortunately, I walked in on him and Jess making out, a memory I have been trying to erase for three years now. Despite the rather disturbing introduction, I could tell he was good for her. If the resigned way he sat in his hospital bed was any indication, that was not the first time Jess had dragged him into hot water, yet he still stuck around. And the way his eyes lit up at the prospect of being introduced to her family members, even Mom, who can be more than a little overbearing, pretty much proved the way he felt about her in my mind. Unfortunately, my little sister apparently didn't notice those feelings.

I know what happened that day two years ago from Jess' point of view: She walked in on Rob cheating on her, freaked out, and left. What I don't know are the events in Rob's point of view. I've never wanted to alienate him by asking about it and he's never seemed inclined to sharing it with me of his own accord. But I do know that Rob's a good guy who genuinely cares about Jess and would never do anything to hurt her. I can tell that for the past two years he's been hurting just as badly as she is, but he won't admit it. I had already taken it upon myself to keep the lines of communication open, when he made it easy on me by walking into Comix Underground under the pretense of picking up a copy of the latest _Spiderman. _He began visiting regularly and each time he asked about Jess. Part of me wanted to ask him why he was wasting so much time on a comic he so clearly wasn't interested in when he could be going after her, but deep down I knew why. Rob is just like Jess: stubborn and prideful. They really are perfect for each other. It's just too bad neither of them will admit it.

When his sister went missing, I knew what I had to do. I know Jess is angry with me for it and, even worse, feeling betrayed, but I honestly didn't see any other options. Hannah doesn't deserve to suffer just because my sister can't get her crap together. And even if Jess can't find her, at least she'll have had a chance to talk to Rob. They both deserve happiness and I really hope they work things out, but even if they don't, at the very least they'll get closure. Of course, this could backfire and cause Jess mountains of unnecessary anguish, but I'm trying not to dwell on that.

When I see her I give her a kiss on the cheek. I know she is surprised by this, but she's not the only one who's grown up in the past couple of years. I have a job I love, my own apartment, and a wonderful girlfriend who doesn't seem to mind my... eccentricities. I watch the shock flitter across her face with a strange feeling of pride and accomplishment, but there are more important matters to discuss.

"So, did you help Rob with that problem of his?" I ask her.

"Yeah, she's home safe." Is all she says, but I can tell there's more to the story. It's not my place to pry however, so all I say is,

"That's good. He was really worried about her." I can't help but allow some of my own relief to seep into my voice. I understand all too well what it's like to worry about your little sister.

"You and Rob sure are chummy these days." She remarks, and I can tell by her tone that she is none too happy with me.

"He's a good guy." I tell her honestly.

As I walk away with the bottle of dressing Mom requested in hand, I laugh internally at the irony. All my life Jess has worried about me, and now I'm returning the favor. Yes, I sometimes hear voices that aren't really there, but I also see the things that are. It's more than I can say for my sister.


End file.
